Dead Status Credits

[freepyjamas]

So I'm going to re-qualify for WP about 10 weeks before the cutoff date, which is in no small part due to the fact that I hassle our finance and travel people to get me flying QF on domestic, rather than going cheapest available. In the current economic climate, this is a bit of a battle.

But (lifetime status aside) any extra SC's I get in the next ten weeks don't matter to me... they won't get me up to P1, not even close, and they disappear completely at my yearly renewal and I start all over again.

So for the next 10 weeks, I'm letting my travel people adopt a cheapest-fare approach. Which will obviously mean a bit of travel with the other guys.

But if the SC's I earn in the next ten weeks carried over into my new year, I'd definitely stick with QF in a bid to maintain next year's status. I guess they reset the clock for a good reason, but it just seems a pity that I don't really have a lot of incentive over the next 10 weeks to fly QF.

 

[simongr]

What about loyalty bonuses?

Lifetime SCs are factor though surely?

How well can you predict your future travel? Just wondering if there was a chance of crediting to American Airlines and still flying Qantas?

 

[serfty]

Ok, so you are going to cross the 1200 threshold with a little under 20% of your year remaining.

Any chance of getting the additional 300 SC's in that time for another 8000 point 'loyalty bonus'?

 

[freepyjamas]

Yep I'm going to end up with about 1600 SC's a couple of months before my new year starts, so it's really just lifetime status that comes into play. But given QF's current state, I'm not sure how much value a lifetime-anything with the QF group really represents to be honest...

 

[straitman]

But given QF's current state, I'm not sure how much value a lifetime-anything with the QF group really represents to be honest...

Neither is anybody else :!:

 

[harvyk]

Ignoring the fact that the SC's you will earn only go towards your lifetime SC's, I can think of some big incentives to still fly QF. You will get things like priority baggage, J \ F lounge, J \ F check in, priority security \ boarding (where it happens)... Where as if you go across to another airline, you are at the bottom of the rung and will remain that way unless you can feasibly gain and maintain status on both.

Who cares if you can't use the SC's towards any additional status, enjoy the status you have.

 

[N860CR]

That's my thinking too. Always funny to read how people work and work to hit WP and then look for other carriers. Enjoy WP while you have it. J/F lounges, the great priority boarding concept, pink/yellow tags on your luggage that ensure they're always first out, the genuine, warm smile from the FA who appreciates your retuned business, a drink with your beetroot chips regardless of what day of the week... Oh... well the lounge are nice.

 

[SeatBackForward]

I'm sitting off 60SC's before hitting platinum for the first time (been a QFF since Dec 1998). Frustration! 95% of my travel is for work, and I'm struggling to find a reason to travel in the next four weeks while double SC's are available. My saving grace is I have 6months before re-assessmentso I'm sure i can get that 60SCs in that time.

 

[freepyjamas]

That's my thinking too. Always funny to read how people work and work to hit WP and then look for other carriers. Enjoy WP while you have it. J/F lounges, the great priority boarding concept, pink/yellow tags on your luggage that ensure they're always first out, the genuine, warm smile from the FA who appreciates your retuned business, a drink with your beetroot chips regardless of what day of the week... Oh... well the lounge are nice.

I get that, but it's not like I'm wanting to run off and fly Virgin now that I've requalified. I've had to go out of my way to keep flying QF, and have people bending the rules for me because they see value in me remaining Plat. But now that's not in question, I feel like I have to do the right thing by the company and save us a bit of money by not insisting on QF for 10 weeks now that my Plat status is ensured.

Just making the point that if SC's I accrued in the last couple of months rolled over, I could continue to justify my QF insistence. Just feels like an odd anomaly in the system that's all.

And yeah, I won't enjoy flying Virgin as a low-status passenger, and I'd much rather keep enjoying J lounge access and nicer seats on the plane etc. But it's not all about me, not in a recession.

 

[Moopere]

And yeah, I won't enjoy flying Virgin as a low-status passenger, and I'd much rather keep enjoying J lounge access and nicer seats on the plane etc. But it's not all about me, not in a recession.

Why not call VA and tell them your story. You fly a lot, enough to gain their interest I would have thought. Though there is no status match campaign on at the moment I'd still call them to see if they have any interest in tempting away a high status customer from their competition.

You may well get lucky and end up with WP on VA and be able to try and compare for yourself with all the comforts you are used to ... I'd certainly be giving it a go, even if I had no real intention of moving the bulk of my business across.

 

[freepyjamas]

Might be worth a crack.
I don't think I'll be flying enough to maintain Plat on both, but having a look doesn't hurt. I was gold on the old Virgin Blue before they had biz class and were going after the business market, and I have to say they treated me pretty well. Even just as a gold, I usually always sat up the front and had a shadow... free lounge access... free upgrades when they introduced premium economy...

I've heard nice things about their premium service now, but I guess while they're under-indexing amongst premium passengers, each passenger will be made to feel extra special. If Borghetti succeeds in attracting enough business travellers, then the shine will wear off, because there'll be just too damn many of them to really care about (like QF has).

 

[perh]

I get that, but it's not like I'm wanting to run off and fly Virgin now that I've requalified. I've had to go out of my way to keep flying QF, and have people bending the rules for me because they see value in me remaining Plat. But now that's not in question, I feel like I have to do the right thing by the company and save us a bit of money by not insisting on QF for 10 weeks now that my Plat status is ensured.

Just making the point that if SC's I accrued in the last couple of months rolled over, I could continue to justify my QF insistence. Just feels like an odd anomaly in the system that's all.

And yeah, I won't enjoy flying Virgin as a low-status passenger, and I'd much rather keep enjoying J lounge access and nicer seats on the plane etc. But it's not all about me, not in a recession.

Or you can just tell your company: "look, with all the flying I am doing, it is a big advantage for me to be able to fly with QF [since they take better care of you as a high-status flyer when things go wrong, give you higher baggage allowance, lounge access, etc]".

 

[froggerADL]

And yeah, I won't enjoy flying Virgin as a low-status passenger, and I'd much rather keep enjoying J lounge access and nicer seats on the plane etc. But it's not all about me, not in a recession.

Hilarious. Annual GDP of 4.3% and you think we're in a recession.

 

[amaroo]

So for the next 10 weeks, I'm letting my travel people adopt a cheapest-fare approach.

Don't do it - this is a reckless move Never allow someone else to make the call for you......in 10 weeks you might find yourself out of the loop & being disappointed every time you view your booking. If you have the scam working -don't play with fire.

Use the benefits & stack those SC for LTG.

 

[harvyk]

Don't do it - this is a reckless move Never allow someone else to make the call for you......in 10 weeks you might find yourself out of the loop & being disappointed every time you view your booking. If you have the scam working -don't play with fire.

Use the benefits & stack those SC for LTG.

I agree 100%. You will find that in 10 weeks, when your desire to go back to QF returns, you will be stuck on the BFOD policy. They won't understand that you now again need the SC's to retain status. They will simply see that your travel costs have gone down, and in 10 weeks time they won't understand why the cost of sending you from A to B has all of a sudden increased (they will forget that it's simply going back up to pre WP confirmed levels) Trust me that any workplace that has a BFOD policy will actively enforce it if the money gets tight. You won't have to do anything.

 

[drewbles]

I may be being logical here, but what's the point of earning status, and then not using it?

I earn my WP and then use it continuously (although I also earn VA WP as well now thanks to a carefully spread travel policy by me; it ensures whoever I *need* to travel with, provides me with as many benefits as I can justify having with my spend).

 

[freepyjamas]

Hilarious. Annual GDP of 4.3% and you think we're in a recession.

I don't want the thread to go off track, but the industry I work in has achieved negative growth over the last 12 months, because it's an industry that relies on strong consumer sentiment. National figures, in a fragmented economy, are completely meaningless for many Australians.

So yes, I am working in a recessionary environment, and no - it isn't hilarious at all.

 

[freepyjamas]

I agree 100%. You will find that in 10 weeks, when your desire to go back to QF returns, you will be stuck on the BFOD policy. They won't understand that you now again need the SC's to retain status. They will simply see that your travel costs have gone down, and in 10 weeks time they won't understand why the cost of sending you from A to B has all of a sudden increased (they will forget that it's simply going back up to pre WP confirmed levels) Trust me that any workplace that has a BFOD policy will actively enforce it if the money gets tight. You won't have to do anything.

You guys make sense. Thank you for your wise counsel.

 

[SeatBackForward]

It'd be interesting to see just how well LFOD policies work out, when you consider penalties, rebooking and extra prices paid when a flight needs to be changed.

Would you cut short an important meeting or not finish off a task because you had a cheap non transferable ticket?

My organisation has just introduced a new travel policy, its clearly been written by and for the ocassional traveller doing the annual travel for a conference thing. They are also pushing a LFOD policy, but my dept have resisted and have agreed LFOD on outward flight and transferable fare on return.

Sent from my HTC Desire using AustFreqFly

 

[Mal]

There are always the rumours (as yet unproven) that Qantas does consider previous flying when thinking about comping status if you haven't earnt enough for renewal. So some extra in the bank isn't going to harm that (if true!). You never know what your flying will be like next year...

Then there are the benefits you get because you fly Qantas - Golden (or Platinum) hand-cuffs as they say.

As others have said, LTS or LTG is always a nice goal to have - any extra SCs do credit towards that. Same with loyalty bonuses (if you haven't used them all up for the year).

But exploring other pastures can be interesting. Each to their own based on their individual circumstances.